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After a 5,000 mile flight - leaving South St. Paul Municipal Airport, Minneapolis last Thursday and routing via Ottawa, Goose Bay in Labrador, Frobisher Bay in the Canadian Arctic, Sondre Stromfjord in Greenland and Keflavik in Iceland our factory new aircraft arrived in Glasgow on Sunday night.

The nine seat Amphibious Cessna 208 Caravan is a USD $2.7m investment in the Scottish Tourism industry - the aircraft has the most modern equipment available and has a fantastic VIP interior fit.

The aircraft arrived as an American registered aircraft, N697ZZ and over the next couple of days will become British and start work - the aircraft will now be registered as G-LAUD.

Landing at Glasgow Airport

Fuelling at Frobisher Bay Airport in the Canadian Arctic before heading over the North Atlantic

The Times of London has reported our plans for proposed seaplane flights to Osea Island off the Essex coast near the town of Maldon on the Blackwater estuary.

Loch Lomond Seaplanes has been in talks with Mr Nigel Freida the owner of the Osea Island resort for sometime about the provision of seaplane transfers to the island.

Seaplane departures from the River Thames would be a goal for Loch Lomond Seaplanes but an approach to the Maritime authorities has yet to be made - our plans at the moment call for departures from general aviation land airports around the capital with our amphibious seaplane - departing on wheels and landing on water.

Operations are planned to start in May 2016 with flights operating through the summer through to September.

Other seaplane destinations from London are anticipated and will be announced as they become available.

Charter flights from the London area to the Scottish West Coast will also be available.

Since our inception in 2003 Loch Lomond Seaplanes has been innovative - we've had to be. When we started there were no seaplane airline in Europe, no regulations, people were against the concept and the environmental lobby had to be addressed and education. Today seaplanes are seeing a resurgence all over the world - thanks mainly to a regulatory framework introduced by Loch Lomond Seaplanes and the UK's Civil Aviation Authority.

The Financial Times has put together an excellent article on the reintroduction of the seaplane on a worldwide stage - "Back to the Halcyon days of travel".

By pure coincidence today LLS pass another milestone, our new factory fresh aircraft leaves the factory in Wichita, Kansa today and makes its way to Minneapolis for float fitting - arriving in the UK in a few weeks time.

Excerpts from the Financial Times

"As well as the growing demand from developing countries and a tourism industry in search of ever more remote destinations, the seaplane’s resurgence has been helped, more prosaically, by the development of appropriate legislation and regulation. When a small Scottish airline, Loch Lomond Seaplanes, started up in 2004 (becoming the UK’s first seaplane service for 50 years) it found existing rules wouldn’t cover larger seaplanes. It worked with the UK Civil Aviation Authority to develop a new regulatory framework, which paved the way for other nations without a tradition of seaplanes to follow suit." Copyright FT.

"Back in Scotland, Loch Lomond Seaplanes has just taken delivery of a brand new 10-seat Cessna 208 Caravan and next month will start scheduled services from Loch Lomond to the Isle of Skye. More enticing, however, are rumours of plans for a new route from the UK capital. David West, managing director and chief pilot, remains tight-lipped but admits plans for London are “well advanced” and that proving flights have taken place, starting from a conventional land airport and landing on water, 25 minutes out of the city."Copyright FT.

Click the top image on the right or the button below to read the full Financial Times article which will be published this Saturday, 5th March

Late in 2015 Loch Lomond Seaplanes spent the day in Glen Affric, one of Scotland's most beautiful glens. Under the direction of Jonathan Glynn-Smith we were taking part in the filming of an advert featuring Aston Martin and Elegant Resorts.

G-MDJE, our yellow Cessna 208 seaplane, was used for the filming - standing out incredibly well it still could not compete with nature's incredible colours.

A great deal of coordination between the cameramen was required during the filming particularly with the drone operator, but as I'm sure you will agree the end product justified the effort.

Glen Affric is a glen some 15 miles (24 km) to the west of Loch Ness. The River Affric runs along its length, passing through Loch Affric and Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin (Loch Benevean).

If you'd like to go straight to the seaplane shots they start at the two minute (2:00) point.

All of us at Loch Lomond Seaplanes are proud to announce the imminent arrival of our brand new, factory fresh, 2016 VIP Cessna 208 Caravan amphibian.

As part of a large enhancement programme aimed at taking our customer experience to a new level our new seaplane will offer luxury as well as a superlative experience.

The modern ten seat Cessna 208 Caravan is the largest seaplane in manufacture today - the aircraft is spacious, quiet and extremely comfortable and with our new First Class VIP interior each seat offers a window view. Passengers will also find the aircraft can be boarded with ease.

At 160 miles per hour, some 260 kilometres per hour, the Cessna 208 Caravan with its high wing configuration is the ideal seaplane for touring the magnificent west coast of Scotland.

The aircraft is better equipped than most modern day airliners with almost every safety feature available in the aviation industry today built in to it's spaceship like flight deck.

The freedom to explore the Scottish West Coast by seaplane is an intoxicating cocktail - take a time out on one of the World's great journeys ........ back to the halcyon days of travel !

Recently SUN journalist Sam Love received a 40th birthday present with a difference - a ticket to fly on a Loch Lomond Seaplane Tour over the incredible landscape of the west coast - he enjoyed the experience so much that, after the flight, he contacted us and asked for more information. Shortly afterwards Sam kindly filed an article with his newspaper, "The SUN", on his seaplane flight.

Sam's article detailed his experience describing all aspects of his great day out including the route flown over the Highlands and Islands as well as the Loch Lomond Seaplanes service.

We were very delighted that he had enjoyed himself so much and we have to thank him for his kind words.

Late last year LLS flew from Loch Lomond down to beautiful Enniskillen in Northern Ireland and joined presented Chris Hollins and BBC One's "Secret Britain" crew on nearby Lough Erne - Chris and the crew were there to document the story of RAF Lough Erne at Castle Archdale a large World War Two flying boat base that provided vital cover for shipping in the North Atlantic.

The Sunderland and Catalina flying boats based on the lough (loch/lake) hunted U-boats in the Atlantic and indeed, the Battleship Bismarck was found during a routine patrol by a Catalina flying from Castle Archdale.

An incredible history and a fascinating programme in prospect. Look out for the programme in early 2016.

In September of 2015 the team from BBC2's "How Scotland Works" joined the passengers on our regular scheduled service flight from the Isle of Skye airport to Loch Lomond.

Our schedule flight departs from the Isle of Skye Airport near Broadford and flies direct to Loch Lomond - the film team picked a fantastic day and en route were treated to incredible views of Ardnamurchan, the Great Glen, Ben Nevis, Glencoe, the island of Mull and, of course, as we flew down the length of Loch Lomond, the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park.

Earlier this year we had the pleasure of flying Julia around the incredible west coast of Scotland while filming her new ITV series, The Wonder of Britain.

Departing from Portree Harbour on the Isle of Skye early one morning we made our way through the incredible Cuillin mountain range on our way to Barra airport in the Outer Hebrides. Barra airport is the only airport in the world where scheduled airline services use a beach as a runway. Of course, with our amphibious seaplane we can land whether the tide is in or out :-)

After the filming at Barra we flew Julia and the team to Stornoway for the next stage of their journey. Fantastic weather and magnificent views !

Well we've just had the most incredible morning - a veritable seaplane fest ! An iconic Catalina Flying Boat came to visit and we were able to do some formation flying with her ! To come up behind the Catalina in the very "atmospheric" Scottish weather was an incredible experience - a special day for all of us at Loch Lomond Seaplanes.

The Catalina is en-route to Greenland via Iceland and needed a staging post for the flight - we were contacted and suggested that Loch Lomond was ideal.

The aircraft landed at Tarbet and beforehand delighted the crowds with a couple of flypasts.

The Catalina was G-PBYA, the last flying British example of the type - if you'd like to get involved with flying boats there can be no better way than joining the Catalina Society.

There is a great history of flying boat activity on Loch Lomond - over half of the Sunderland flying boats manufactured during the second world war were produced at the Blackburn works in the shadow of Dumbarton castle just 5 miles from the Loch.

During the war the top secret Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment (MAEE), which was set up to evaluate the performance of water based aircraft, was moved in 1939 from Felixstowe to RAF Helensburgh, just three miles from Loch Lomond - it moved back in 1945 after the war. During the period at Helensburgh Loch Lomond's fresh water was used on many occasions to test flying boats.

Skye Seaplanes * is delighted to announce the introduction of flights between Loch Lomond and the Isle of Skye - two of the most stunning landscapes in the World now joined by an iconic seaplane service.

Flights will be available on selected dates throughout July and August 2015 and will generally operate daily from Sunday through to Wednesday.

Monday to Wednesday flights will depart from Loch Lomond in the morning and from Skye in the late afternoon. On Sundays the departure from Loch Lomond will be in the early afternoon. Subject to demand other flight dates and times may be available.

Earlier in 2014 we were delighted to be involved in the making of NBC TV's "Running Wild" starring Bear Grylls and Ben Stiller - the series was first shown in the USA on 4th August 2014. On 10th December 2014 the programme was shown in the UK on Channel 4's "Bear's Wild Weekends".

Bear and Ben had taken on the might of the Cuillins - the Isle of Skye's majestic mountains and, after two days of "Running Wild", our job was to get them out and back to civilisation ..... after jumping off a cliff into the water and swimming to the seaplane we took off in the biggest water I've ever encountered. It doesn't look like it but that was a big sea swell for a seaplane - the camera doesn't do it justice ! Seriously exciting stuff !

Snippets of our seaplane can be seen throughout, but mainly featured in the last five minutes of the programme as we "extract" Bear and Ben.

It's a great series - don't miss it !

The programme has been shown on Channel 4 and the UK Discovery channel. Look out for the reruns.

Earlier this year we received a call from the team at the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (GCMB) asking us if we were available to fly from Glasgow's City Centre - they couldn't give us any details as it was very, very confidential but having worked extensively through the years with the great people at GCMB we're used to that approach at LLS.

On the day of the flight everyone was introduced by their first names - we were still no wiser.

The departure from the River Clyde in Glasgow's City Centre was, as always, magnificent and the flight out to the West Coast was incredible. As our guests were mainly from the USA we also flew over locations such as the Holy Loch, where the US Navy operated submarines during the cold war, and the town of Greenock where 1.3 million US soldiers went ashore from the Atlantic convoys in 1944 to fight in Europe.

Visibility was fantastic and our passengers enjoyed stunning views of Islay, Jura and Mull. Leaving the coast behind the seaplane flew over the Arrochar Alps to the north of Loch Lomond before turning south past Ben Lomond. Finally, the seaplane flew over the islands marking the Highland Boundary Fault before splashing down in front of De Vere's five star Cameron House Hotel - a truly wonderful experience.

Our passengers disembarked on the pontoon in front of Cameron House for lunch and until this week we were still didn't know who our VIPs were. The hosting of the event in Glasgow was announced at this year's MTV EMA awards to 700 million viewers worldwide ..... the mystery is over .... our front seat passenger earlier this year was no less than Mr Robert Bakish the President and Chief Executive Officer of Viacom International Media Networks.

A fantastic result for Glasgow and a massive well done to Scott Taylor, Joe Aitken and all the staff of the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau.

Loch Lomond Seaplanes (LLS) is delighted to announce its 10 year anniversary celebrations – established in January 2003 Loch Lomond Seaplanes became the UK’s first commercial seaplane company in over 50 years. To mark the occasion we are introducing a complete make-over of our operations for 2013.

Firstly, we are introducing an exciting new paint scheme for our aircraft sponsored by a major UK PLC. The paint scheme will be unveiled in the next couple of months and is sure to turn a few heads.

Secondly, we are introducing a new single seat cabin configuration where every passenger has a sumptuous leather window seat – this configuration features a new “love seat” at the rear of the cabin which is sure to be popular with the many couples who become engaged on our flights. A seven-seat VIP interior is also being made available for wedding and corporate charter.

A further, very exciting, development is the reintroduction of, perhaps our most popular services, the “Fly to Lunch” and “Fly to Dinner” flights. The departure from Loch Lomond, flight over Scotland’s first National Park to land on remote, historic Loch Voil, followed by lunch or dinner at Monachyle Mhor, one of Scotland’s best restaurants, is one of life’s great pleasures.

Loch Lomond Seaplanes flies over 200 flights per month in the summer season and carries over 6,000 passengers every year. Our seaplane flights over Scotland’s magnificent west coast landscape have captured the imagination of not just the 40,000 passengers we’ve carried over the last ten years but also of the media - coverage of our services has been extensive; on worldwide TV, from "BBC Breakfast" through "Three Men go to Scotland" and "I Dreamed a Dream - The Susan Boyle Story" to "Emmerdale"; in print media in magazines such as Conde Naste and Le Figaro through to newspapers such as the Sunday Times; on radio in documentaries such BBC Radio 4’s “Excess Baggage” to Radio Clyde’s award winning documentary, “Clyde 24 - A day in the life of the River Clyde”.

Over the last ten years we’ve had many highlights, our proudest moments, however, have been the opening of our Glasgow City Centre Seaplane Aiirport, the only one of its kind in the world; winning Scotland’s top tourism award, a Thistle Award for Innovation; national recognition by the UK government and the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) as a leading exemplar of service innovation; being voted by the Scots as the country’s top “Must Do” activity and representing Scotland in VisitScotland's TV and cinema tourism campaign.

Over the years we’ve been honoured to share the Scottish landscape with people from all over the world, from all walks of life; perhaps some better known such as Sir Steve Redgrave, Freddie Flintoff, Matt Baker, Dara O’Briain, Julia Bradbury, Darren Clark and, my boyhood hero, Sir Jackie Stewart but, I’m sure I talk for all of us at Loch Lomond Seaplanes when I say that our greatest pleasure is seeing all of our guests, particularly our senior guests, some over 100 years old, disembark with a sense of wonder and awe whilst reliving their flight - it's quite an experience - 45 minutes of flight, some 120 miles, of magnificent mountains, stunning glens, timeless castles, sensational vistas and captivating lochs in colours and light that you can only dream of – fly with us and be inspired !

For the Loch Lomond Seaplanes' team it was a very special day ! It was a great pleasure and a delight to meet Susan and organise the seaplane flight for her return to Scotland - before her splash down on Loch Lomond and disembarkation at the De Vere Cameron House Hotel pontoon Susan thoroughly enjoyed a scenic tour of the stunning Scottish landscape that makes up the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.

Susan said on her official website, "that was brilliant - fantastic - one of the best experiences of my life!" - Living The Dream!